Realization
by sakura rakuen
Summary: Hitsugaya nd Matsumoto are pondering their past, their future, and the ties that have been broken. HitsuMatsu. I don't own Bleach. If you flame me, I'll return the favor.


Hitsugaya stared at the picture in front of him. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, letting the picture flutter to the ground.

It was him and Momo, in Rukongai. Eating watermelon.

He wanted to rage and storm, he wanted to let Hyourinmaru take over and just destroy everything...

No. What he really wanted was for Momo to wake up...wasn't it?

He wasn't even sure anymore.

He glanced down at the picture and let out a hollow laugh.

---

Matsumoto glared at the picture on the wall. It was framed in silver. How fitting.

"Gin," she whispered, half in hatred and half in longing.

Why had he left? Why had he turned on everyone? Why had he turned on _her_?

"Why Gin?!" she shouted, throwing a sake bottle at the picture. She watched as the liquid trickled down, but it made no mark on the picture.

Of course. Gin had given it to her as a present, so he had obviously put a kidou spell on it.

She sighed and sat down on her bed. Sometimes it really pissed her off how much he knew.

She ran her fingers through her tangled hair, trying in vain to clear her head, to forget about him...

---

"Hinamori..."

"Traitor." Hitsugaya was suprised when the word rolled off his lips.

He threw himself on his bed, an act which he would usually classify as 'childish'. But he didn't...he _couldn't_ care anymore.

Concentrating carefully, he lifted the picture with a gust of reiatsu. Turning it over in his hands, he finally let it drop the the ground again.

"Momo..."

He looked at the picture for what seemed like the hundreth time. Momo was laughing as he finished off another pile of watermelon. It was the only reminder of his past. But that was just it: it was his past. And it was gone now. Momo was Hinamori-fukutaichou.

"And it took me this long to realize it," he stated outloud.

---

"Rangiku..."

She missed the way he said her name. She missed how he could always amaze her with his knowledge. He always seemed worlds above her, and more than once she had wondered why he had even taken notice of her.

The picture on the wall was the two of them graduating from the academy. Gin had his usual simle on, but his cheeks were a bit flushed. She smiled. Of course, now she remembered. He had told her of his acceptance into fourth seat of fifth division, and she had kissed him. On the cheek, but he had still turned red.

She giggled, then stopped abruptly when she remembered that he was no longer like that.

"Since when did you plan to leave, Gin?" she asked into the empty space.

---

Hitsugaya was tearing the picture into pieces. When he finished, he let them fall to the floor. He'd get a recruit to clean the place later.

He remembers, now, the day she had made her choice.

_"Hinamori!"_

_"Wha...oh, Shiro-chan!" her eyes widened, and her complexion paled._

_"I'm a captain now. It's Hitsugaya-taichou." he announced._

_"Captain?!" she had squawked in disbelief._

_"Yes."_

_"But you were barely in the academy last year..." she said faintly._

_"Nevermind that. I've been assigned to tenth division. I was wondering if you wanted to be my vice-captain."_

_"Oh, Shiro-chan...I'm so sorry, I'm Aizen-taichou's vi-"_

_"Aizen?"_

_"Aizen-__**taichou**__."_

_"Why?"_

_"Well, he..." she fidgeted a bit. "He saved me, Shiro-chan. See, Kira, Renji, and me were-"_

_"I've heard that story five times," he growled. "But why are you his vice-captain? __**I've**__ saved you from a few hollows you couldn't handle."_

_"Umm..." she reddened. "Shiro-chan, please...I'm sorry, but I can't be your vice-captain!" she burst out._

_"Alright, alright." he left, careful not to show the hurt on his face._

"She wasn't sorry." he said bitterly.

---

Matsumoto dried her eyes and blinked any new tears away. If only he could see her now...he'd probably grin even more at the sight of her crying.

Oddly, she preffered that instead of crying here alone.

Sighing, she wiped her eyes one last time and left the room.

"I need some fresh air..." she murmured.

---

Hitsugaya's teal eyes swam in and out of focus. His vision turned hazy, yet he refused to shed even one tear.

He may have been broken, but he wasn't weak.

So he flung open the door and shunpoed outside to clear his head. The cool air might do some good.

---

"T-taichou?"

Hitsugaya spun around and faced his luteniant, who gave him a shaky smile.

"I thought I was the only one who came here." he stated in mild suprise. After all, the division's roofs were off-limits to anyone below thrird seat.

"No." she said.

"Matsumoto."

"Yes, taichou?" she asked warily.

"You were thinking about Ichimaru."

She flinched. Was it realy that obvious?

"You must've been thinking about Hinamori." she answered. Immediately, she regretted it. His small form tensed, and she felt a small flare of reiatsu.

And then he did the most suprising thing of all.

His shoulders lumped, and his reiatsu dimmed.

"Yes." he admitted, his voice too weary to be a child's.

---

Matsumoto looked at him. The child prodigy, the strong leader of an entire division, her taichou...

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I wasn't thinking."

He remained silent.

"Taichou-"

"Forget it, it's alright."

She knew he wasn't alright. She knew how much he was hurt. And she knew that right now, he was trying to be strong...for her...

---

Hitsugaya started in suprise.

Matsumoto smiled down at him. She had just gripped his hand.

He gave a small nod and turned to look at the sky angain.

It didn't matter how broken both of them were. It didn't matter how may wounds their hearts had to heal.

All that mattered was that each one would always be there for the other.


End file.
